Another Great Wave of Disappointment

Posted on July 10, 2015 by borysSNORC

The Great Wave off Kanagawa (神奈川沖浪裏 Kanagawa Oki Nami Ura?, “In the well of a wave off Kanagawa”), also known as The Great Wave or simply The Wave, is a woodblock print by the Japanese ukiyo-e artist Hokusai. It was published sometime between 1830 and 1833[1] in the late Edo period as the first print in Hokusai’s series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (富嶽三十六景 Fugaku sanjūrokkei?). It is Hokusai’s most famous work, and one of the best recognized works of Japanese art in the world. It depicts an enormous wave threatening boats off the coast of the prefecture of Kanagawa. While sometimes assumed to be a tsunami, the wave is, as the picture’s title suggests, more likely to be a large rogue wave or okinami (“wave of the open sea”).[2] As in all the prints in the series, it depicts the area around Mount Fuji under particular conditions, and the mountain itself appears in the background.

Copies of the print are in many Western collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, the British Museum in London, the Art Institute of Chicago, LACMA in Los Angeles, the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne,[3] and in Claude Monet’s house in Giverny, France, amongst many other collections.

This is Mr K’s favourite piece of art. Which is by way of saying, it’s the only piece of art he has ever been interested in or appears to enjoy, because well… as loathe as I am to admit he – the poor sod has no genuine appreciation for art in general, whatsoever. Such a sad miserable artless life Mr K does live. 😉 Anyway, onto my story. Mr K’s enjoyment of this piece goes way back – his iPhone 3 had a Great Wave gelaskin back in the day and now his iPhone 6+ sports it as a screen background, as does his PC at home these many years… yes, it’s this level of die hard dedication and appreciation we are talking about here *tongue firmly in cheek*.So back up a few years to Mr K’s first trip to the MET in New York… he was excited to think he was going to be able to see The Great Wave on display. Wandered the galleries, wandered some more galleries – but alas, no Great Wave. After much wailing and gnashing of teeth, he eventually resorted to asking for directions to the piece, but was told that it was a very delicate object and is not currently on display. Naturally Mr K was disappointed to miss out..

After that trip, he came home and researched and found out that the National Gallery of Victoria has a copy of this magnificent woodblock print, and he felt this would be an excellent thing as his work takes him to Melbourne semi-regularly. However, each and every time he has found himself in Melbourne for work, ‘We are sorry, sir, but that item is not on display.’ and he has missed out again. Shit and bugger, Mr K has been repeatedly thwarted and disappointed in his efforts to see it in Melbourne.

Last year in March 2014 – off to NYC again, this time with me! And I drag him all over all the MET galleries, at some point he abandons me for the New York Transport museum which is way downtown and I’m still wandering the MET. We are pretty sure it’s not out, but ask around anyway, and yet again – no, the Great Wave is not on display at this time either, however we are happy to keep flogging merchandise featuring the image of the Great Wave on tote bags, pencil cases, coffee mugs and umbrellas, in the gift shop! 😉 More piss and vinegar from Mr K as he misses it, yet again.

A couple of weeks later we are at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and I stumble on some notepaper featuring the Great Wave in the MFA gift shop and ask the staff why they have items featuring the Great Wave… the response, “Well, the MFA has a copy of that woodblock print so we have stuff with the Great Wave all over it, but it’s not on display at the moment because it’s really old and fragile.” The look on Mr K’s face is priceless… waves, waves, everywhere, but nary an original to be seen. He’s getting seriously annoyed by this time, well as seriously annoyed as your average Canadian gets!

At some point in amongst all this Mr K reads a news article detailing how there was a large set of Hokusai’s original prints from the ‘Views of Mt Fuji’ series, in the Wellness Spa of the Costa Concordia, which some drunken cruise liner captain sailed aground on January 13th, 2012 in an ill conceived game of high stakes chicken with an island off Italy. The tragedy of it all… Mr K is lamenting his poor decision to not have been born sole heir to an enormous coal mining fortune; for if he had, he claims he would have purchased a copy of it himself by now, and have it on loan to the modest Queensland Art Gallery so he could enjoy it whenever he wanted. Such determination to see this one piece of art!

So here we are, 2014 and the planning begins for a trip to Japan. Mr K is convinced he will finally see a copy of his beloved Great Wave off Kanagawa somewhere in Japan. So he starts doing his research on every art museum he can find in all the cities and towns we are going to be visiting. Without fail, every single one of them comes up empty… not a single copy of this artwork can be found listed as on display in any of the major art museums of Japan! Mr K is very disappointed – yet again. Which brings us up to date – when two days ago, we were shopping in Kagurazaka and I see the now ubiquitous, Great Wave on a fan…
Naturally, I decide that I really should buy one, (which gains me a growl of indignation from Mr K) and just on spec while the sales assistant is ringing up my purchase and wrapping up my new fan, I decide to ask him 1) does he speak English, and upon affirmation that yes he does a little, 2) does he know where we can go to see this piece of art? Well, off the top of his head, he doesn’t know… but he turns to his computer and starts searching the internet for us. On all the Japanese websites that we can’t read and English Google doesn’t deal with so well. In a few moments, he turns back to us and starts writing down an address for the Ota Memorial Museum of Art, and tells us that it looks like they have a copy on display. Mr K is watching this exchange with increasing interest until eventually he walks out of the store with a huge grin and a piece of paper that will lead him to the promised Great Wave.

We head off to the war museum and shrine as planned, stop for some lunch and then head to the Ota Memorial Museum of Art. A bit of a walk, a couple of trains and subway stops later and we arrive at the museum… only to discover this:
For those of us who don’t speak Japanese, myself included, this poster tells us that the piece in question will be on display from the 1st of August until the 27th of September 2015. Well, as luck would have it, we are back from our cruise on Monday the 3rd of August and have the whole day free before we fly out for China at stupid o’clock on Tuesday the 4th of August… those of you who ‘museum’ a lot, can probably feel what is coming next. Yes, that is right. The Ota Memorial Museum is CLOSED ON MONDAYS is the great tradition of museums the world over. At this point all decorum is lost and Mr K is pouting like a small child who has just been told he can ride the pony and see the clowns, but at the last moment is sent to bed. Oh, the complete lack of comprehension at such bad luck expressed by someone normally in possession of a Parking Fairy, it’d be hilarious if it weren’t so ridiculous by now.

So poor Mr K is thwarted yet again… and to absolutely and finally rub salt into the wound, the Metropolitan Museum of Art is holding celebrations to commemorate the centennial of their Asian Collections later this year, and I am going to be there to see it, but Mr K will not be with me.

After all the chasing and research that has gone into finding a copy of this woodblock print on display, I would actually like to see the piece as well… but there is a little part of me, thinking – perhaps I should avoid it at the MET in September, so that we can continue to hunt for it together. 🙂

Dynamic Tokyo Highlights

Posted on July 9, 2015 by borysSNORC

While the others had decided to go hiking up Mt Fuji, in the freezing cold, and with massive amounts of rainfall predicted, I decided to take a more sensible approach to my sightseeing activities today and had a great schedule lined up.

First stop was the Tokyo Tower. Tokyo Tower was built in the post war era when Japan was trying to re-create itself and it’s international identity. It is loosely modelled on the Eiffel Tower but is apparently 13m taller – thems was some pretty important 13m at the time I am sure. Apparently the bright orange colour is due to aviation requirements and given the foggy and hazy weather we have been having since we got here, I can well understand why that particular regulation is in place. It is an unapologetic tourist trap – complete with super fast lift with flashing whizz bang lights in the ceiling (The Rock anyone?) and an observation deck at 150m that gives some great views over Tokyo. At the bottom, there is a huge selection of rip off souvenir shops, an aquarium and a small wax museum. Worth it for the views, but I just skipped out on the rest. 🙂 One of those things that you enjoy if you just accept it for what it is, I think.

The view from the observation deck is quite interesting, even on this day of pretty crappy weather. This shrine has a famous cemetery where six of the last Shogun samurai were interred… cemeteries here seem to be less accessible and definitely not photo friendly from what we have seen so far – quite the opposite of New Orleans and Arlington on our last trip where you paid an admission fee and got the guided tour. The tower also has some of those freaky glass bottom floor sections so you can see just how far down it is. To be honest, looking over the railing in our apartment building is more stomach lurching than this was… perhaps something to do with the repetition, but it looks like the floors go down indefinitely.

Our next stop was to the famous Hama-rikyu Gardens, favourite spot for Shinto weddings apparently – we were greeted by a policeman sitting in a police box. According to Atsushi, our host and tour guide extraordinare, Japan has an extremely low crime rate of 1.5% (percent of what I want to know?!) and the police in his box, well, he is ‘waiting for crime’. The gardens are lovely. Well manicured and lovingly kept, there are beautiful little tea houses where we go to meet a master of the tea ceremony who is called Sensai (teacher). The Sensai was not what I was expecting, a mature woman of delicate features whose movements were well practiced and elegantly executed.

Authentic powdered green tea used by samurai warriors ‘for the dizzies’, which turns out meant they used it as a hangover cure because of its high caffeine content. The sensai makes us tea according to the rituals, and we in our turn execute our part of the ritual. A cup is placed before us, we pick it up with our right hand, cupping it underneath with the left, and then using our right hand rotate it clockwise to move the pictured side of the cup away from where we will drink from. Your first sip is deep, and followed by more smaller sips… until the last sip which must be taken with an audible slurp noise. We then wipe the edge of the cup with the index finger and thumb before turning the cup counter clockwise so the picture faces ourselves again and we may then put the cup down. The tea Sensai will then ask, ‘How was your tea?’ to which we are required to bow, and answer ‘kekodesu’, meaning excellent. It is apparently part of the ceremony to respond ‘excellent’ even if you dislike the bitter taste so as not to offend the sensai and her years of training. 🙂

After leaving the teahouse, we have some time to explore the famous gardens, absolutely beautiful and so peaceful. You would never know you are in the middle of one of the world’s biggest cities. There were koi about 30-40cm long in a beautiful pond, and a row of bonsai trees, the oldest of which was 520 years old. Even though it was raining today, the gardens had a beautiful fresh and rainforest like look about them, or perhaps it was because it was raining today that it felt like that…

Next we moved onto a Japanese BBQ lunch at the Hotel Chinzanso Tokyo, which is also set in some amazing gardens. The Japanese BBQ here is cooked on a flat piece of rock cut from lava up at Mt Fuji, and is heated using a gas system and cooked at the table for us. I had lunch with a lovely lady named Melody (not her real name, Anglicised version of a name she didn’t bother telling me because none of her English friends could pronounce it anyway!) who came from a ‘small town’ in Southern China called Spring City… her ‘small town’ by the way which has a population of ‘only 20 million people’. Jesus, that’s almost the population of Australia.

Lunch was a lovely combination of pork, wagu beef, eggplant, onion, carrot, potato, all cooked on the lava stone, and rice, salad and topped off with green tea gelato/ice cream (not sure which, not creamy enough to be ice cream, not icy enough to be gelato!). And a lovely stroll through the gardens on the way out to our pick up, Atsushi, who said to us ‘Thank you for being puncture’ on our return. Love quirks of language… we know what he meant.
We ran into these lovely ladies dressed in their kimono as we were leaving the gardens, I said hello and said they looked lovely, and a compliment goes a long way as they were happy to allow us to take some photos. Atsushi tells us that formal kimono for a young lady’s ‘coming out’ could cost upwards of USD$10,000 by the time the inner and outer robes, and inner and outer belts (obi), undergarments, shoes, hair ornaments etc were all added in. Which is why most families have these lovely kimono that are passed down from generation to generation. The other interesting thing I learned about kimono today is that both men and women wear them wrapped left over right – if you wear it right wrapped over left, you are probably dead. As in, that is the only time they dress someone that way, for burial.

After lunch we head off to the Imperial Palace which is right in the middle of Chiyoda-ku and some absolutely enormous grounds (you have to check that out on Google Maps – it’s huge). Most of the gardens are closed to the public except on January 2nd to welcome in the New Year and December 23rd to celebrate the Emperor’s birthday. The Imperial Palace is not open to visitors either but wandering the East Gardens of the was worth a look-see. Apparently the Palace houses only two members of the Imperial family – the Emperor and the Empress, the rest of their family live in a different palace not far away. There is a staff of 500 body guards to look after the 2 of them, and they are very carefully selected and trained. They must first pass a national exam, then train for 1 year in English, law, both Japanese marital arts – kendo and judo – as well as poetry, calligraphy, dancing, skiing, horse riding “everything they need to guard the Emperor and Empress. Very busy.”

This is the imposing gravel pathway leading up to the lookout for the Imperial Palace in the middle of the East Gardens, and over the other side of the Uchibori-dori Ave is Shinjuku, which was largely bought up by Mitsubishi a few decades ago and now sells for USD$270,000 per square meter. That’s right – over there real estate is worth a small fortune, the seemingly unused gravel parade ground? Driveway? Mall-that-looks-like-th-Washington-Mall-without-any-monuments? is just laying around doing nothing but providing an impressive walk way for tourists on real estate worth the equivalent of some medium sized African nation’s GDP! Wow… but I did find the guy who has Tokyo’s worst job ever. This dude appears to be raking all these acres of gravel by himself, and the inconsiderate tourists who were running all through it to get the right spots for their photos didn’t even seem to notice this poor guy coming along after them smoothing out their footprints. Crazy. 🙂

We then took a drive past the fish markets; have to go back there for breakfast apparently – it seems highly improbable that I’ll make it at 4:30am one morning to see the tuna auctioned though! This year, the first auction of the year on January 2nd saw the first blue fin tuna sell for $1.5million dollars which comes with, well, tune, bragging rights and a shitload of advertising. So it is always highly sought after. Much like our first tray of mangoes for the season auction, I think. Past the fish markets and onto a Tokyo Harbour boat cruise to see a bit of the city from the water. Unfortunately much of the commentary for the boat trip was drowned out by groups of noisy school children who were having a ball (and wearing the most adorable sailors girls uniforms – they actually do that, I thought it was just an anime thing!), so I can’t remember half of what we were told or what the bridges etc were named.

Unfortunately, this was not our boat and we were on a modern city cat type thing… but a very cool looking ship the purpose of which completely evades me. 🙂

I did manage to find out what these weird buildings were – they were designed to celebrate the centenary of Asahi Beer… the building on the left is designed to look like a frothing glass of beer, and of course it does – once it is pointed out to you. The sperm looking thing is supposed to represent passion for what they do, but all anyone sees is obscure sperm thing and no one wants to think about beer and passion and sperm in the same sentence, so moving right along!

Next stop was Asakusa, which is an amazing little shopping district smooshed in around an important Buddhist temple called the Asakusa Kannon Temple and a well known Shinto Shrine. We wandered the shops for a while, there were lots of Japanese type ‘stuff’ for sale – kimono, swords, fans, chopsticks, mobile phone dangly bits, cats with waving arms, umbrellas, sandals, sushi, pastries, lantern flower pots (these are pretty cool, the lantern flowers are supposed to be planted by your front door so that your ancestor deities can find you when they come down from heaven), Hello Kitty stuff, things with the Great Wave on them, more kimono, more chopsticks… you get the idea. Lovely winding little streets with a permanent market feel.
By this time it was pouring down rain and heading towards 6pm. So off back to Tokyo Station to head off in our separate directions. Can’t believe the train system which seemed quite daunting on Tuesday is now quite happily navigated on Thursday. Had no trouble finding my way back to Hamamatsucho Station, found a bento box full of all good things and am having an early night. All up it’s been a great day and I hope the weather clears for the guys up Fuji, but if they are getting anywhere near the rain we have had here today – that’s seriously gotta suck. :/

Running amok in Tokyo.

Posted on July 9, 2015 by borysSNORC

We were planning on a pottering sort of quiet day getting to know Tokyo a bit better after yesterday’s hectic transit day and then wandering around a bit dazed through Shinjuku. So much for that!

We head off in the morning for the Kagurazaka neighbourhood, which is an old district full of tiny little alleyways and bars and tea houses. This older area of Tokyo is also a district for geisha though running into them first thing in the morning is unlikely. We took the JR line train to get here and then a wander up the street led us to the Daijingu shrine. It is known to be a lucky place for those seeking romance and observers come here to make offerings, prayers and donations and leave behind cards and knotted paper wishes on special days of observance – like yesterday the 7th of the 7th.

Inside the temple – yes, I know, no photos allowed, but how can I describe this without writing a thousand words? Outside every Shinto shrine is a place where observers can purify themselves before making their offerings. Water is poured on one hand, then the other than to the mouth (usually symbolically these days of micro organism awareness), then water is drawn again and allowed to run over the ladle to clean it for the next person.The back alleys of the Kagurazaka district looks exactly like you would expect it to, tiny buildings with little doorways causing entrants to bow deeply upon entering that has been built on over the years. It feels like buildings are not knocked down here to make way for the new, they seem to build by squeezing in among existing buildings or keeping old facades and building upwards behind. It’s very quaint and picturesque. We are planning on coming back here at night to see all the street lanterns lit up and when the bars are overflowing with guests. Saw these massive posts of very messy electrical wiring everywhere in the twisty tiny alleys – I’ve seen much, much worse in places like Romania and Pakistan, but it always makes you worry a little. 🙂 How could they? *twitch twitch*The doorways to all the little bars are just my size, at 5’5″ now though, even Angel would have to duck his head to enter places like these. There are also loads of Italian and French restaurants in the area boasting they’ve been in business for 20 years or more. I never would have expected to see so many restaurants serving European cuisine tucked into one traditionally Japanese tiny neighbourhood – no big chain fast food outlets though, which is kinda cool. Also lots of French patisserie style bakeries selling all the usual croissants and pasteries.Never seen such enormous pork buns – these were larger than a grapefruit and about three times the size of what we buy at home – even just one would easily be very filing for lunch. All sorts of flavours and wrapped in plastic… no idea if they were consumed hot or cold, but was just amused at the sheer size of them. We wandered down the street a little, went into a paper shop selling loads of packets of origami paper, another store selling coloured cut glass that looked almost Venetian, and fans galore as well as pairs of highly decorated chopsticks…. and a shoe shop. After wandering around Kagurazaka for a couple of hours, we head over towards the Yasukuni shrine and the Yushukan War Museum. The war memorial is quite controversial apparently – it clearly celebrates Japan’s lost soldiers, and I don’t use the word ‘celebrate’ lightly… the museum endorses and bolsters the Japanese involvement in WWI and WWII and appears to staunchly support and celebrate the acts of soldiers performed for the good of the Emperor and Empire. Bit hard to explain, but the museum is completely unapologetic for Japan’s involvement in the war. The memorial even honours those hanged for war crimes, go figure. Even the Japanese people themselves disagree with how the government/powers that be are representing these war criminals at the musuem… you see, 80% of Japanese are Shintoist and 70% are Buddhist, which of course adds up to 150% of religiously flexible people. Shinto is all about living a good life, but has no concept of an afterlife, whereas Buddhism is very much interested in living a good life to make it to the next life. So many Japanese ‘Live as a Shintoist and die as a Buddhist’ so they can have the paradise afterlife.

Shino is a philosophy that embraces nature, ancestor worship and hero worship… and according to Shinto principles, those who live a good life can go one to become gods or dieties after death – hence the Japanese peoples’ strong reaction to those hung as war criminals being honoured as gods or dieties at this musuem and its memorial festivals.As we made our way down the imposing boulevard – the arch shows the way to the ‘pure’ side of the shrine, leaving the unpure behind – leading up to the Yasukuni shrine which was built in 1882 to honour the now over 2.5 million people Japan has lost in various wars, we saw thousands of lanterns being hung up by a crew of about 20 men, for a festival that starts next week…I have discovered that the writing on these lanterns is not as I had expected – names of the honourable dead, but rather they are names of families, companies, restaurants, organizations etc, who have sponsored the festival. So, kinda advertising… which is not as romantic or lofty as what I had originally thought.
Festival poster – You never realise just how much easier it is to travel around in English speaking countries, until you head ‘somewhere else’ and are confronted with the inability to read. Anything. The lanterns closer to the shrine are in numbered panels laid out among cherry blossom tress (not currently in bloom) and flocks of white doves live in the park to out number the war hawks; maps display which group are on what panel… each of these little yellow boxes has a light in it and once the festival starts up will look spectacular all lit up. Spectacularly lit up names of companies and sponsors that is. The Kasukuni shrine was built in 1882 and is one of Tokyo’s grandest shrines, attracting lots of visitors. All observers would purify their hands first, then come to the front of the shrine, place an offering in the box (cash offerings even very small coins), bow twice, clap loudly twice to draw the attention of the ancestral dieties, stand with their hands together in silence and make a wish, bow once more time and walk away backwards. As tourists who wanted to get a closer look, without fully knowing the local customs, we walked to the front of the shrine, placed an offering in the box, had a good look around, staring thoughtfully at the building itself wishing we could go inside, before backing out. So, I’ve found a hole in my research – I know the conduct expected when visiting mosques but hadn’t thought to look into the proper etiquette when visiting shrines and temples in Japan. 🙂 I am sure we will figure it out – last thing you want to do is offend by not following customs. (NB: Have been reliably informed that the procedure outlined above is correct and all are welcome to make offerings and wishes at Shinto shrines – it is more a philosphy than a formal religion so the Japanese are not offended by heathen Christians participating which makes a nice change from visiting mosques).Gorgeous sea monster statuary outside the war memorial, there were also statues commemorating war horses and dogs involvement in wars.In the main lobby to the war museum is the train which operated on the Taimen Railway between Burma and Thailand during the Greater East Asia War. After the war, the train was used by the Thai before being recovered and returned to Japan (it was domestically made here originally) for the museum.There are many fascinating armaments and objects on display, armour from 900 years ago worn by various famous warrior generalsnlike Minamoto no Yoshiie – it is hard to see in the photograph, but they are decorated with plum blossoms and butterflies and denote a person of high rank. Below is a picture of a Kaitan one man submarine torpedo that was piloted to hit an enemy ship. It contained 1.5 tonnes of high explosives in its bow and would instantaneously sink a ship – over a hundred people committed suicide in one of these Kaiten torpedos. I never heard of these before… the nautical equivalent of suicide airforce pilots.The main Shrine of the Yaskuni shrine being built in 1882 had large scale repairs during he Showa era and the original roof was kept here for display. Below is a rising sun flag signed by prisoners of war during WWII who were all considered class A war criminals…
This plaque sums up the entire evolvement of the Japanese in Papua New Guinea… and that’s it. No mention of Milne Bay and the first major setback the Japanese army experienced in the Pacific, nothing. Also notably absent was ANY MENTION OF PEARL HARBOUR! It’s like it never happened. No shit – all the info leading up to Japan entering WWII is mind numbingly boring information of how Japan was relying on the US for natural resources like oil, copper etc., and how the US was pressuring Japan over their involvement in Indochina. By this read – Japan engaged in WWII because of trade sanctions that the US had unfairly imposed. That’s it. Further on there was an entire exhibition room full of these bridal dolls. The dolls were made by the bereaving families of unmarried nobles whose ‘spirits had died in battle’. The dolls were made by the mothers of soldiers and offered to the shrine, this one was the first, which appeared after a solder was killed in action in Okinawa.

The War Muesum was very interesting and I would highly recommend people go check it out when in Tokyo – it is supposed to take about 90 minutes to complete the museum tour, but is much much quicker if you can’t read Japanese. 😛

After the war museum and memorial we went chasing an art gallery, but had been sent on a wild goose chase looking for some art at the Ota Memorial Museum of Art, which has turned into such a saga as to be worthy of a post all of its own – so I will get to that later as I do not have time to do it justice now.

We then made our way to Shibuya which has the enormous scramble crossing from hell. It was raining and there were umbrellas going everywhere, it was complete and total chaos and noisy and singing lamp posts and trucks with music playing and just mad house. Fun in a crazy kinda way. We went looking for a quiet bar to spend some time to recuperate. 🙂

We dropped Aunty Mary and Angel off and then headed to Shimbashi station to meet up with some friends from Mr K’s work. I was expecting a lovely night of talking taxi and limousine reform ahead… boy was I wrong! We went bar hopping in the Ginza district, stopping here for a glass of red, stopping there for a G&T, found an interesting restaurant we have no idea the name of but we called it ‘Dumpling City’ as there were hundreds of dumpling pictures outside the restaurant. Lots of amazing conversation… it turns out Mr K’s work counterpart from taxi and limousine in Victoria is married to the Minister for Education from the Victorian Government, so we had a wonderful evening of politics, travel, and Japanese absurdity.
Many of these high rise buildings house tiny stair cases leading up and down to ‘mistress bars’ – these are bars set up for the cast off mistresses by their former lovers once they’ve had enough of their affairs! Bit of a weird custom if you ask me, but it’s quite the done thing. You have a mistress, as you do… and when you are sick of her, you no longer pay for her apartment and her lifestyle, so you set her up keeping her own little bar in which she can make a livelihood. It’s absurd and awesome.All round a great day but somewhat exhausting…. I’d like to say tomorrow is going to be lighter on and a bit easier – but there is so much to do!

Toyko, we made it!

Posted on July 7, 2015 by borysSNORC

Whoa. Long flight is long. And for some reason even longer when there are strange people near you who insist on doing annoying things – like the guy who kept turning his light on to check the time on his watch about every half hour? And the woman who was wearing a face mask, but who kept lifting it up to pick her nose? And the young guy across the aisle beside us who insisted on working or doing his taxes or filling out a college application or something for about two hours after everyone else on the plane had decided it was lights out… seriously? What’s with that?

I love to travel, but bloody hell I hate the long haul flights. This one was particularly bad – the air con was ridiculously drying and seemed to by spraying a superfine dust over everything drying out your eyes, nose, sinuses, and leaving a film of crap on surfaces… bit of a worry that. Maybe it was because it’s an older plane (you can always tell – the entertainment system was operated by a remote in the arm rest and options were pretty limited compared to the touch screen ones) with less than ‘fresh’ and springy padding in the seats. None of us slept… so at least it wasn’t just me for a change. Need to change it up on the drug combo for the flight home. 😛

Anyway, we arrived at Narita, a lot of which appears to be under construction… even though we were all feeling pretty trashed, Mr Public Transport Expert came to the rescue and found us shuttle tickets and not long before we were on our way. Unfortunately the weather is really shit here today and expected to stay that way until the weekend (hopefully it improves, the guys are planning on climbing Fuji, but there is no real point if the weather is shit and there’s nothing to see but cloud), so we didn’t see a lot of the country side on the way into Tokyo Station. The airport shuttle took about an hour and a half – traffic is as crap as Brisbane but seems more polite – and then we switched to a JR line train to get to our accommodation which is in Shimbashi, in the Ginza District. We ginned about a bit getting our key to the apartment we are staying in and finally got here around 10am? about 18 hrs after leaving home. So stupid flying out Sydney couple of hours the wrong way, then nearly a three hour lay over in Sydney, before heading north. Thankfully we’ll be going direct on the way home as new routes start on Aug 1, Brisbane to Narita. Woot, that will seriously cut down the transit time.

We settled in here a bit, laughed at the toilet, went ‘Hmmm, futons, didn’t think of that’ and all laid down for a nap. Two hours later and we thought we had better make something of the day. Quick freshen up and out the door to the Shinjuku area for a look around and to find an early dinner. Trains and I don’t mix. We especially don’t mix when I’m overtired and in a lot of pain… but it’s the only sensible choice and Mr K, being well versed in all things public transport, managed to get us there without too much incident.

Lovely area of town, lots of little back full of restaurants and shops screaming duty free at tourists. It is a weird blend of what we expect old Japanese back alleys to look like, mixed with ‘da-da-da-da-da Hollywood, big fuck off room, neon signs’, Yeah! We went into a noodle bar and ordered noodle surprise meals – literally, none of us had any idea what we were ordering, and then were handed enormous bowls of who knows what that we went ‘okay, that could be what I asked for’… delicious! Huge serves of veggies and noodly goodness. Score.

We wandered around a bit, took in some sight, Mr K and Angel are fascinated with all the vending machines – they are everywhere and full of all sort of mysterious things. We went into some gaming fun zone type places, some anime stores, department stores and later stumbled into a Bavarian Beer Hall – yeah I know. Weirdest beer hall ever – about three stories underground, gothic arches in the architecture, but art deco mock stained glass windows and really dodgy attempts at 15thC Flemish peasants painted as wall frescos, and Japanese food?! Go figure.

After that it was back to the Hamamatsucho train station and the grocers for some wine, snacks and ready for an early night. Lots of weirdness in the grocery store – love it and wine! Yay. (oh, and more Japanese curry than you can poke a stick at yaleman).

Check out the view from our balcony! 🙂

First impressions of Japan so far:

Everyone is so nice and polite. A random lady offered to help us with the menu when she heard us speaking in English, and yet we all still ended up with dinner surprise. 🙂
Everything seems really clean and tidy – even the train stations and surrounds. I wonder if that is just because I am comparing it to the be-bubblegummed and homeless beggars of the New York subway!
All the old buildings around the place don’t seem derelict – everything looks well looked after, there is very little graffiti and even the obviously older buildings are well kept.
It’s an interesting clash of old culture and new and I am sure that is only going to become even more apparent as we move around the country over the next four weeks.
Oh and my last, first impression (gotta love a good oxymoron) – the men here must be supremely confident… they all have the most fabulous man bags and sport them proudly. 🙂

Trip of a Lifetime!

Posted on February 8, 2015 by borysSNORC

Just how many ‘Trips of a Lifetime’, can a person squish into one lifetime? Well, looking at my travel history, I’m thinking as many as you want to prioritise in your life! We have one car. I don’t like fashion. I don’t shop for shoes (ever – it it’s avoidable!) We’re sensible with money (most of the time) and we don’t miss out on much – but we think of money spent on travel and travel memories is money well spent. So onwards with planning more adventuring!

For this years trick – we are off to JAPAN. Well, it started as a trip to Japan, but now it’s a trip to Japan, China and Hong Kong! And I am sooo excited! We are flying to Tokyo in early July and having 11 days in Kyoto and Tokyo to take in the Gion Festival and check out the crazy anachronisms in Tokyo – Mr K is planning on climbing Mt Fuji, while I onsen of course! Then we have booked to go on a 17 night cruise all around the country to see some of the more remote areas of Japan that travellers don’t get to that often. Going with Princess of course (can’t let that Elite free laundry thing go to waste!).

This trip is on the enormous and very impressive looking Diamond Princess. We haven’t been on this ship before, but it’s about 1/3 bigger than the Sun/Dawn and Sea Princess ships that we sail on out of Australia. Should be pretty interesting… I’m keen to try out the Japanese Baths in the Sanctuary.
After our 28 days in Japan (did I say how much I was looking forward to the Gion Festival in Kyoto?), Mr K and I are flying to China! We are doing an organized tour, which is rather uncharacteristic for us, as we usually prefer to be self proppelled which gives greater flexibility, but when you don’t know two words of the local language and customs are so entirely different to what we are used to in the West, it kinda makes sense to get onto an organised trip.

Our 14 nights takes in Beijing, Xian, Guilin, Li River, Yangshou, Chonquing, a 3 night Yangtze River Cruise, Yichang and Shangai. Places I never thought I’d get to travel to. We’ll be seeing the Great Wall of China, the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, the Terracotta Warriors, the Yangtze Three Gorges Dam and loads of beautiful scenic places in between… I am particular fascinated by the Reed Flute Caves. It looks like other limestone cave systems that has been lit up with beautiful coloured lighting systems to make a kaleidoscope of colourful stalactites and stalagmites. Looks gorgeous and otherworldly!

After China (I’m going to copy the full itinerary into the bottom of this post) we are heading off to a short stay in Hong Kong for Mr K’s 40th birthday – I have no idea what we are going to be doing in Hong Kong yet… I haven’t got that far! 🙂 Hopefully I’ll find somewhere cool for us to stay and some fun things to do before we head home.

So much travel and so many adventures… I am truly fortunate.

Day 1 Arrive in Beijing

Your guide will greet you outside the baggage claim area at the Beijing Capital Airport with a welcoming sign and then take you to the pre-booked hotel. The rest of the day will be left on your own to explore this amazing city.

Day 2 Beijing

Begin your explorations in Beijing today by paying a visit first to the largest city square across the world, Tiananmen Square. The square is one of the most beloved sites among Chinese citizens, especially the flag raising and lowering ritual held here at dawn and dusk, draws in scores of spectators every day. Opposite to the square across the road is the magnificent Forbidden City, one of the most recognizable landmarks and cultural symbols of China as the former royal residence for five centuries. After your tour of the Forbidden City you will continue your day with a visit to Summer Palace, the massive garden and summer resort for royal members only during the imperial times. (B+A La Carte Lunch)

Day 3 Beijing

The tour today starts with the remarkable Temple of Heaven, where emperors of Ming and Qing Dynasties performed ceremonies and rituals to pray for good harvest and blessing on the country. Afterwards, you will be taken to the Mutianyu Great Wall, a comparatively less tourist-trodden part of the 1,400-year-old fortification system. An easy, comfortable round trip cable car transfer over the picturesque scenery is included while certain amount of time would be given for you to climb the wall. Lunch will be served at an elegant restaurant. Our touring concludes with a stopover at the Bird’s Nest and Water Cube on your way back to hotel. (B+L)

Day 4 Beijing-Xian

After breakfast, hop on a rickshaw for a Hutong Tour through the most characteristic, maze-like neighborhood. Afterwards, you would be taken to the railway station for the high speed rail train to Xian, which takes approximately 5 hours, and along the way, feel free to admire a total different scenery of the countryside. Upon arriving at the Xian North Station, the tour guide would pick you up and escort you to the hotel. (B)

Day 5 Xian

The highlight of the tour today lies in the world-renowned Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses. It is reputed as the largest underground military base in the world. After lunch, you will have the opportunity to explore the ancientXian City Wall, the largest and best-preserved wall extant in China now, running 13.75km, enclosing the old capital. In the middle of the old block of Xian stands the Great Mosque, the oldest and biggest Islamic mosque in the country, determined to have been built in mid-7th century. Around the mosque is the Muslim Street that is bustling every day with loads of the most authentic fine eateries and souvenirs shops. Also we would stop at the nearby Bell Tower & Drum Tower Square for some great photo opportunities. (B+L)

Day 6 Xian-Guilin

After breakfast at the hotel, the tour guide will take you to the Xian Museum, a museum housing 130,000 pieces of archeological items, located right at the foot of the Small Wild Goose Pagoda, one of the two most significant Buddhist pagodas in Xian, which was built around early 8th century. After enjoying a special A La Carte lunch, you will be transferred to the Airport for your flight to Guilin. Upon arrival in Guilin, you will be met by your guide and transferred to your hotel. (B+A La Carte Lunch)

Day 7 Guilin

After breakfast at the hotel in the morning, start today’s tour with the Reed Flute Cave, a huge cave featuring a walk of about 500 meters, lined up by countless grotesque yet thrilling stalactite formations; and Elephant Trunk Hill, the most representative and favorable landmark of the city of Guilin, which is apparently a hill bears quite some resemblance to an elephant standing in the water. Later in the day, a trip to the Seven Star Park is also on the schedule. (B+A La Carte Lunch)

Day 8 Guilin-Yangshuo

This morning your guide will meet you at your hotel and transfer you to Zhujiang Pier for your impressive cruise on Li River towards Yangshuo. Upon arrival, you would be transferred to a local family for the authentic rural China experience. On the way there, please take your time to admire the gorgeous country view of Yangshuo. Check in to the hotel at Yangshuo and enjoy your night out on the small town. (B+L)

Day 9 Yangshuo-Guilin-Chongqing

This morning, drive back to the airport in Guilin to catch the flight heading Chongqing. Your Chongqing guide will pick you up from the airport and take you to the Panda House at Chongqing Zoo where you would have a close encounter with the adorable giant pandas. Later in the day, visit the historic Ciqikou Old Town which is an old town dating back to the turn between 10th and 11th century. Before the day ends, embark your luxurious Yangtze River Cruise ship which will weigh anchor at 10.30pm. There is a necessary Safety, Orientation & River Briefing presentation for you upon embarkation. (B+A La Carte Lunch)

Day 10 Yangtze River Cruise

Sail along the Yangtze River today. Go ashore for an excursion to Fengdu Ghost City or Shibaozhai, depending on the water level condition or different cruises. The exciting Captain’s Welcome Party will be held in the evening. Just sit back and enjoy the Chinese folk dancing and music performance, and be a part in it. (B+L+D)

Scenic Spots: Fengdu Ghost City is dubbed as the final resting place for all souls in Chinese mythologies, hence the series of temples and grotesque images ubiquitously found in town. Shibaozhai is a 56m or so tower leaning against the Yuyin Hill. The tower and the land around it were specially isolated and encircled by a moat after the Three Gorges Dam project in 2003, rendering it a gargantuan bonsai besides the Yangtze.

Day 11 Yangtze River Cruise

Continue sailing pass the jaw-dropping view of the Qutang Gorge and Wu Gorge. Disembark for an excursion to the Small Three Gorges, also known as Lesser Three Gorges, consisting of Longmen, Bawu and Dicui Gorges. Later take an excursion to Badong and experience a small wooden boat trip on the magnificent Shennong Stream. Return to the ship and enter the western section of the Xiling Gorge. In the evening, the cruise ship is slated to pass through the massive ship locks if weather permits. (B+L+D)

Day 12 Yichang – Shanghai

After breakfast, you will disembark for a visit to the grandest hydroelectric project in the world, the Three Gorges Dam. Indulge yourself with a tour around the colossal dam and perhaps the phenomenal scene of millions of tons of water being discharged if it happens to be rain season. Then go back to the ship and prepare for the check-out. As the ship arrives at Yichang, your guide will meet you on board and take you to have lunch. Afterwards, you will be transferred to the airport for your flight towards Shanghai. Upon arrival, your Shanghai guide will meet you and transfer to the hotel. (B+L)

Day 13 Shanghai

This morning commence your tour of Shanghai with a visit to the Shanghai Museum, a massive museum housing over 140,000 pieces of artifacts, displaying the history and cultural scene of Shanghai. Later you would take a walk at The Bund, the most prestigious landmark and best-preserved demonstration to the glamour of the old Shanghai, and Nanjing Road, the busiest shopping area in the metropolis or even across the whole China. After lunch, visit Yuyuan Garden, where you can marvel at the stunning view of the garden and have the most local experience by strolling around the nearby Chenghuang Miao bazaars, and New Spot (XinTianDi). Enjoy a Huangpu River Cruise to appreciate the scenery of Shanghai at last. (B+A La Carte Lunch)

Day 14 Depart from Shanghai

According to your flight schedule, our tour guide will pick you up at the hotel and drive you to the airport to catch your homeward flight. (B)